Back to Basics #1

When tackling a massive scary challenge one of the first things you really need to do it establish the baseline from where you are starting.

It’s easy enough to set out your flag and declare a goal of “£100K in 100 Days!” it’s another thing to look at where you are and see the gap between your reality and your eventuality.

So today is all about getting back to basics and pulling out all my bank accounts and payment methods and having a long. cool, hard, forensic look into where my money is going right now and making some decisions.

And in making those decisions I need to make some hard choices!

My goal is MASSIVE! To make back the money I am down in a short time is going to take equally massive action.

I will need to plan for an extended time on a bare-bones budget!

Although I know I have lots of hints and tips on how to survive on very little within the pages of this site I need to really knuckle down and set in place the plan that will carry us through to financial equilibrium once again.

Bare-bones for me might not be bare-bones for you! Bare-bones for someone with an “OK, but not propel me out of bed in the morning goal” is going to look different than for someone who woke up at 5 am this morning with a blast of energy and a “let’s get this bl**dy done!” vibe.

Me – I am leaning towards a total “Personal Survival Budget” standard of frugality .. bearing in mind that we are pretty much still in lockdown so paring our budget to the bare bones is going to be a little easier at this time.

I am going Scorched Earth

Everything that is “optional” or a “treat” or a “because I deserve it – GONE!

I thought about this overnight and my reasoning goes like this.

Change happens when we are put under pressure! Bimbling on as I have been over the last two years means that nothing will ever change because I am not ramping up the pressure on me!

So ditching Amazon Prime, cutting off Netflix, trimming back the food budget, and stopping everything that is not necessary to keep a roof over our heads and the lights on …. Gone! Gone! Gone!

And I know I am in the middle of a Netflix series .. but if I took the hours I would have spent glued to a screen and used it instead to finish some of my planned revenue-generating projects just imagine where I could be in 100 days? .. or I could have finished chilling on the sofa, consuming someone else’s content …. this way the temptation is GONE!

Also – if I am going to make a habit of being up at 5 am tacking this challenge when I really should be in bed at a reasonable time and not mindlessly scrolling old episodes until midnight.

Perhaps trading my Netflix for relaxation and chill is a better strategy to consider?

Budget Meetings are back on the Agenda!

What gets measured gets done!

What you focus on you get more of!

So what Team Colliar is focusing on over the next 100 days is to become income-generating dynamos …even if this is from a standing start!

That means we need to take stock at every step to check that we are on the right track. So weekly budget meetings are back on the agenda.

Time to sit, to reflect on how we have done in the past week, and plan the short effective strategies of the week to come work well for us .. alongside very visible daily reminders of the goal that we are aiming for.

Actually the kids were a massive part of supporting me through this the last time and they are getting pretty darn excited about digging in and getting some massive traction again now.

I am also a little uncomfortable about reporting my wins and losses .. which for me is a great indicator that I should step forward and totally do that! Even though the wins in income generation may be in the business I think that full transparency in showing you where my personal income is coming from is going to help focus things immeasurably.

I need to make my goal visible

I am a pretty visual person – I am one of those people who “Believes it when they see it”

Goals for me become real when I can not only see them in my imagination very clearly but create visual reminders that I bump into as I move through my day.

So yes – my fridge is going to be decorated with challenge boxes, goal boards, and cool quotes .. anything to keep my head up and my vision clear for the next step of the journey.

So today – it’s all going to be about the forensic accounting of my monthly expenditure:

• Current Account
• Savings Account
• Business Account
• Paypal Account (those pesky recurring payments)
• Cash in Hand

Nothing is sacred – everything is negotiably for the next period of our lives. Drilling down to find out what is “necessary” and what is “nice to have” is part one of the 100k Fightback!

So tell me – what is your plan looking like? Could it do with a little refining? A little refreshing? Do you want to challenge yourself to 30-60-90 days to do something amazing or do you just need to have a quick look at your accounts and tidy up some stragglers?

Let me know .. lets talk X